University Film Studies: A Comprehensive Review of I, Daniel Blake

This report provides a comprehensive review of the film 'I, Daniel Blake,' focusing on the life of Daniel Blake, a 59-year-old widower who suffers a heart attack and is subsequently denied employment and welfare support. The review explores the film's themes, including bureaucratization, alienation, and loss of faith in independent expertise. It highlights Daniel's struggle against a broken welfare system, his friendship with a poverty-stricken single mother, and his eventual demise due to the stress and frustration caused by the system. The report also discusses the movie's impact, its depiction of a dystopian society, and its commentary on the rise of neoliberal capitalism. References to the movie and related academic articles are included to support the analysis.

Running head: I, DANIEL BLAKE MOVIE REVIEW
I, DANIEL BLAKE MOVIE REVIEW
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1I, DANIEL BLAKE MOVIE REVIEW
Movie Description:
The movie I, Daniel Blake surrounds the life of the 59- year old protagonist who is a
widower and has suffered from a heart attack. His cardiologist advised him not to work but
Daniel thinks otherwise after he does a work capability assessment and is denied employment
and allowance support. He is extremely frustrated to know that his doctor has not contacted
about the decision and then he appeals for an appeal; this process, he finds to be extremely
tough because in order to do this, he has to fill up forms online and Daniel is not computer
literate (Loach et al., 2017). While this journey, Daniel is seen to befriend Katie who is a
poverty- stricken single mother; Daniel does his best to help this family and meanwhile
suffers from poverty himself. He has to sell most of his belongings and suffer many troubles
before the day of his appeal arrives. On the day of his appeal, Daniel finds himself anxious
and suffers from a second heart attack that finally takes his life. At his funeral, Katie is seen
to read out eulogy which was the speech that Daniel thought of reading at his appeal. This
speech describes his feelings about how he was failed by the welfare system by being treated
like a dog instead of a human being.
Potential Theme:
The movie has shown a lot of themes upon which the story has moved forward. There
is the theme of bureaucratisation, a theme that indicates the iron cage of rationality and also
some areas that show the loss of faith in the independent expertise (Seymour, 2017). It also
shows alienation or individualism through the struggle of Daniel which he seemed to fight
alone. The eulogy that was read out showed the loss of faith of Daniel on the independent
expertise and the way he was treated even after proudly paying his dues in the society, left
him hopeless (O'Brien, 2018). The state power and control decided most of the way Daniel
should lead his life and under the power of this state, Daniel was not able to get a job and

2I, DANIEL BLAKE MOVIE REVIEW
build a life back again from scratch. Bureaucratization made Daniel to be treated like a dog
since he was being dragged from one department to another but his appeal was not met.
Finally, when his appeal was heard, Daniel was so weak and exhausted that a mere anxiety
created another heart attack that eventually took his life.
Bigger Statement:
The movie was subject to a lot of heated debates, but the movie genuinely depicted
the kind of dystopian society that we reside in. It indicated the cruel and broken system and
the realities of the society (Laverty et al., 2017). The movie created an impact on the society
as numerous people were able to relate themselves to the kind of position that Daniel Blake
was in. The movie intended to indicate the bureaucratic nightmare that gets stuck with the
lives of the common people and only death can be the rescue. The kind of statement that the
movie portrayed also showed a hint of the rise of neoliberal capitalism that comes with the
welfare state.

3I, DANIEL BLAKE MOVIE REVIEW
References:
Laverty, P., Loach, K., Johns, D., & Squires, H. (2017). I, Daniel Blake. Entertainment One
UK.
Loach, K., Laverty, P., O'Brien, R., & Fenton, G. (2017). I, Daniel Blake. Impuls Home
Entertainment.
O'Brien, N. (2018). Administrative justice in the wake of I, Daniel Blake. The Political
Quarterly, 89(1), 82-91.
Seymour, T. (2017). I, Daniel Blake ‘doesn’t represent reality’, says jobcentre manager. The
Guardian, 10.